In some cases, a wire processing system includes a wire unit, a wire feeder, and processing units. Foreseen as processing units are insulation-stripping stations, seal/sleeve stations, and/or crimp stations. Wires with different cross-sections, colors, and structures are held in a height-adjustable wire-changer. Through height-adjustment of the wire-changer, the type of wire that is to be processed is brought into a straightening path. The leading wire-end is grasped by a loop-layer and rotated horizontally through 180 degrees. Simultaneously, by means of a wire advancer, the wire is advanced, and by means of the straightening section, is straightened. An encoder measures the length of the advanced wire, whereby on advancement of the wire a wire-loop is formed. The wire-feeder consists of a first transfer unit, which is displaceable along a transfer guide, with a first gripper unit, and of a second transfer unit, which is displaceable along the transfer guide, with a second gripper unit. A first drive moves the first transfer unit along the transfer guide. A second drive moves the second transfer unit along the transfer guide. A control device controls and monitors the processing system, the movements particularly of the transfer units and of the gripper units being freely programmable.
A keyboard and a monitor serve as human/machine interface. The first gripper unit accepts the leading wire-end of the wire-loop from the loop-layer and the trailing wire-end of the wire-loop from the wire-changer. After the wire is cut, the first transfer unit moves to the insulation-stripping station, which removes the wire sheath from the wire-ends. After the insulation-stripping operation, the first transfer unit with the wire-loop moves further to a first transfer station, transfers the wire-loop to the latter, and returns to the starting position. At the transfer station, the second transfer unit accepts the wire-loop and brings the transfer unit to a seal/sleeve station and/or to at least one crimping station.
The linear displacement of the transfer units and the transfer of the wire-loop to the transfer station can be time-intensive and can make the wire-processing process slow. It is also not ruled out that the hanging wire-loops tangle while being transported.